Nasopharyngeal linguatulosis or halzoun syndrome: clinical diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

SUMMARY Halzoun syndrome, also known as nasopharyngeal linguatulosis, is a rare entity that is mostly prevalent in Eastern Mediterranean countries. The consumption of raw ovine liver and lymph nodes infested with Linguatula serrata nymphs remains a major cause of the nasopharyngeal symptoms and discomfort associated with the disease. Halzoun syndrome is a clinical diagnosis based on history and presentation. Treatment of this disease is still debated; however, our experience reveals that alcohol gargle can be a good option. Proper counselling on the hazards of eating raw liver in endemic areas is needed. Moreover, physicians should be aware of the sequence of events in the disease in order not to delay or miss the diagnosis. This communication presents a rare Lebanese case of Halzoun syndrome that offers medical implications in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of the nasopharyngeal symptoms of this syndrome, with a review of the literature.

Linguatula serrata (Fröhlich, 1789) in Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) from Italy: A Neglected Zoonotic Parasite

“…Humans can serve as accidental intermediate hosts when they ingest eggs (visceral linguatulosis), from which parasitic larvae exit and migrate on viscera. Sometimes, they may act as aberrant final hosts by eating active nymphs in infested poorly cooked animal entrails, leading to the development of a nasopharyngeal form known as Halzoun/Marrara syndrome in African, central Asiatic, and eastern Mediterranean countries [2][3][4][5]. In fact, a relatively high presence of immature forms of the parasite was reported from endemic areas in the viscera of slaughtered animals, mainly in the mesenteric lymph, liver, lung, and spleen of domestic ruminants and camels [3,6].…”